ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE

Entrepreneurial culture can be made to enable democratisation of the capacity to create and manage (business) towards wealth creation, thereby eradicating poverty.

When people are empowered to create and manage their own businesses,

wealth creation is possible;

jobs are created;

individual and collective well being becomes a reality; and

it becomes easier for the State to better redistribute wealth to those who cannot work (disabilities for instance) when all those who can work are empowered to do so.

Earlier definitions of entrepreneurship have referred to creation and running of innovative businesses by people sharing a number of characteristics. Broadly speaking, entrepreneurship also includes innovative positive social interventions (to be dealt with under Social Entrepreneurship in a later Unit).

Culture refers to attitudes and values which in the case of entrepreneurship may be linked with autonomy, creativity and sense of responsibility (soft skills) and so on. It also refers to entrepreneurial knowledge and skills and management competencies which have to be acquired (hard skills).

The hard aspects of culture apply to entrepreneurship because without them, an entrepreneurial culture would not develop into a tangible act.

According to David Mc Clelland (1961), an entrepreneur is a dynamic person who takes calculated risks. This definition has a behaviourist orientation.

Fillion (1990) defines the entrepreneur as someone who imagines, develops and realises a vision. In economic terms, one may define an entrepreneur as someone who combines resources in such a way as to add value.

A psychologist’s point of view may be that: an entrepreneur is someone who feels the need to accomplish something, to realise his/her potential or to become his own boss.

Across all above definitions, there is a recurrence of underlying notions like: vision, value creation, innovation, risk-taking and self-accomplishment.

Having reviewed the characteristics of entrepreneurs, one is tempted to conclude that an entrepreneur is a product of his/her particular environment. Several authors have shown that entrepreneurs reflect the characteristics of the time and place where they have evolved (Toulouse, 1990). The cultures, the needs and the habits of a particular country or region shape the behaviour of entrepreneurs. Obviously enough, with the falling of frontiers (both geographical and psychological) entrepreneurs exert an influence that goes far beyond their own countries and/or regions.

Entrepreneurial Culture

Culture can be defined as the mix of norms, values and beliefs that are shared by a particular community [be it a business community, a cultural (or ethnic) community, a country, or a geographical region].

Cultural Values

Linton (1975) describes values as a predisposition to act in a certain way.

Values of entrepreneurs:

According to Sexton & Bowman (1986), entrepreneurship is a value in itself for Americans. Different authors suggest different values for entrepreneurs:

Kets de Vries (1984): reputation, power, status and recognition

Gordon Survey of values (1976): independence, efficacy and a negative reaction to affiliation.

There is a general presumption that a society may have potential entrepreneurs, but only becomes entrepreneurial if it has a culture that supports innovation and initiative.

Cultural Attitudes

According to J. M. Toulouse (1990), entrepreneurial culture is favoured by the following set of attitudes:

1. Business activities are valued.

2. Individual and collective initiatives are highly rated.

3. Determination and perseverance are desirable qualities.

4. An equilibrium between security and risk is accepted.

5. The tension between stability and change is resolved.

Therefore, in a society favouring entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs are role models who are not only acceptable, but desirable.

In such societies, challenges are regarded as opportunities (and not threats). In societies where entrepreneurship is absent, business challenges are left to be taken care of by foreign investors. On the other hand, within entrepreneurial cultures, people will find inspiration in challenges. These will enable them to act and find ways to exploit existing opportunities. An example of lack of entrepreneurial culture in a given country is where the business community believes that government is going to take charge of all their problems.

An entrepreneurial culture is supported by people who have a strong belief in their projects, who will invest their physical, psychological and other resources (also including those of others) in their venture with a view to succeed.

Decision is taken out of reasonable certainty and out of a positive balance of probabilities based on available information. A community favouring experimentation, R & D and innovation, has a culture associated with risk taking. Entrepreneurship reconciles risk and security.

Starting a small business entails risks, but is also a source of gratification for the successful entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship has the potential to bring positive changes, both to the individual or collective entrepreneur and to society as a whole. Entrepreneurs are change agents who can alter a given situation and give society a product or service that can transform their behaviours and ways of living.

Hence, a society that favours status-quo and offers resistance to change does not display a culture conducive to entrepreneurship.

Similarly, a business organisation that resists change will ultimately have to face its own obsolescence.

According to Fortin (2003), entrepreneurial culture can be rooted in a society through four main avenues:

- the family;

- education;

- existing business organisations; and

- local and national authorities and leaders.

Promoting an Entrepreneurial Culture within the Community

The conditions required for establishing an Entrepreneurial Culture are:

Identification and promotion of Role Models: Women entrepreneurs, for example the ladies who lost their jobs in the textile sector and created ‘Charmin Sud’, a rural women entrepreneur partnership. They came on television to explain how being laid off from an ailing textile industry was for them a blessing in disguise. It allowed them to unveil their entrepreneurial potential and leadership abilities.

Role of media: For instance, in the promotion of Entrepreneurship as a business model. Until recently, the local TV ran a weekly documentary: ‘Portrait d’Elle’, in which a local women entrepreneur was portrayed as to her new place in society as an economic (and social) agent. Similarly, a few newspapers reserve a page regularly to promote entrepreneurial initiatives.

The Education system: Entrepreneurship modules in the curriculum at different levels. Entrepreneurship education is now beginning to be anchored in tertiary education curricula. We have now moved past the old paradigm whereby entrepreneurship was to be taught only in Business faculties. The present Super GEM is a living example of the new paradigm whereby the subject is available to all undergraduates from all fields. An IT student, a Fashion & Design student and all the others in fact, need to know the basic business and entrepreneurship skills that are required to start a business or to act entrepreneurially, to lead and innovate in their employer organisations.

Period of Incubation: Entrepreneurship development programmes spread over a period of time (and not one off initiatives). Initiatives like “La semaine de l’Entrepreneuriat” are beneficial for general awareness, but the enthusiasm soon dies away after the caravan has left. What is truly beneficial for culture change is a planned process that uses all the avenues mentioned in this section over a longer period with set objectives and performance targets. In Finland, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture developed as a result of a planned ‘Entrepreneurship decade’, that is, ten years of cultural change. This can take the form of entrepreneurship education starting at primary or secondary education level, targeting rural women with a Microcredit scheme and so on.

Participation of leaders (political, business, opinion): Political and religious leaders to promote entrepreneurship as a solution to current economic problems. As mentioned earlier under ‘leadership’, a strong, charismatic leadership is required to transform a community. To change the mentality from ‘qualifying to get a government job’ to ‘taking charge of oneself by being self employed’ requires psychological ‘push’ that can be facilitated by people who can influence the community. The first people to come to our mind are the political, social and religious leaders.

Role of State: in supporting entrepreneurial ventures financially and non-financially. The State can facilitate the above mentioned initiatives by providing the legal and institutional frameworks required to establish the entrepreneurial culture. In Mauritius, legislation pertaining to Business Facilitation has been passed to ease registration and other procedures.

Difficulties Faced in Establishing an Entrepreneurial Culture

Ignorance: Where people fail to capture the important role of entrepreneurship, for instance, in poverty alleviation.

Laziness: For example in communities who have got used to being assisted.

Fear: Risk aversion

Religious/Cultural constraints: Communities/societies where business and profit making are perceived as being against cultural/religious values.